Of Course Not
by theconsultingtardisbananaangel
Summary: Thor confronts something even more troubling than the Chitauri takeover: his growing feelings for his brother...


"Brother." Thor's silhouette cast a large shadow in the doorway. He leaned against the frame, arms crossed. "Are you conscious?"

"I am not your brother." Loki wasn't asleep, he almost never slept. "I wish to be in solitude at present."

"Can we discuss this capturing Midgard nonsense like adults?" Thor rolled his eyes. He flipped the light switch in the little hotel room, the dim yellow light making Loki flinch.

"Did you not hear me, cretin? I do not require company."

"It's been a year, Loki, and you still won't acknowledge the events of New York."

"There's nothing to acknowledge. Jotuns are killers. Your kind are saviors."

"My _kind_? Loki, we were brothers." Thor crossed the room, sitting on the unoccupied bed.

"A lie. A lie fabricated to overcome its god."

"Loki..."

"We have nothing to connect us." With this, Thor jumped up, crossed to Loki's bed, and grabbed his thin shoulder, forcing him to face his former brother.

"We. Are. Brothers." Thor hissed. "We fed from the same breast. We played together, fought together. You're throwing that all away because you think you're a monster?"

Loki mumbled something.

"I could not hear you."

"Know," he said, speaking clearly.

"I do not understand."

"You said that I _think_ I'm a monster. I know."

"What- Loki, No. You are not a monster."

"Either I am a monster or you are an imbecile."

"I am not an imbecile!"

"Exactly. How did you locate me, anyhow?"

"Odin's tracking you."

"You came all the way to-" Loki summoned a brochure from the little desk- "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania? For what reason? To converse? Are you that lonesome up in Asgard? Where's that Jen maiden?"

"Jane. Her name is Jane. And she left after a good conversation with the fair Miss Pepper Potts about being in love with an Avenger."

"Ooh. The mighty Thor can beat anything within the battlefield, but cannot win the heart of a mortal?" Loki smirked, thinking he had hit Thor with his comment, but the blond just shrugged.

"My heart belongs to another," he said.

"'Another'? Whom is the lucky maiden recipient of thy affections?"

"Not a maiden," Thor mumbled.

"Aha! A man! Odin's not going to approve," Loki sneered.

"No, he won't ever know, for it won't ever happen. The object of my love will never return the emotion," Thor stated, flinching. He sat back on the other bed.

"Is it one of your Midgardian comrades? The Man of Iron, perhaps?"

"No, not Anthony. That man cannot see past his own eyes," Thor replied cryptically.

"What in the name of Yggdrasil is that supposed to mean?"

"He is rather taken with himself."

"So it isn't the Man of Iron. Is it the great green one? Or the one suspended in ice for many years?"

"It isn't one of the Avengers."

"Am I aquainted with the individual?"

"Yes, you're...quite close," Thor said quietly.

"You are sure to win his heart. Myself, on the other hand, I am quite stranded. You think your situation is hopeless?" Loki looked sad.

"I cannot imagine who could be unable to resist such a silver tongue and handsome looks," Thor said.

"Yes, but you forgot the 'murdering maniac' bit of my persona. I attempted to kill the one I love so."

"Sorry, it's just... that bit doesn't matter to me, so I tend to omit it from memory."

"Doesn't matter?" Loki tilted his head, scrutinizing Thor with his gaze.

"No. I suppose it's a bit unbecoming, but they're mortals. They'll be dead in a hundred sun cycles. How they perished is of no importance to me."

"I'll tell you who I love if you do," Loki said. Suddenly, it felt as if they were children again, and were staying up late talking. Thor looked away.

"I don't know if that is a wise idea."

"I do not believe it is. But trust me, your secret will be safe."

"I...I can't."

"Why?"

"Loki..." Thor looked at him, really looked, taking in the slightly knotted black hair, the cheekbones and thin rose-colored mouth, the emotion-filled green eyes. "Because I love you."

"What?" Loki's eyes widened slightly, the only sign that he had heard.

"I'm in love with you!" Thor thundered. "That's why I couldn't tell. That's my secret!"

"Brother..." Thor stopped fuming at this word.

"Yes?"

"I love you too." Loki dissolved into thin air and was at his brother's side. Thor hesitantly reached for his hand, and Loki took it. Their knees bumped together as Thor turned to face his brother.

"Loki..."

"Does it really make no difference to you?" Loki ran a hand across Thor's shoulders, brushing past his hair.

"Shh." Thor closed his eyes and felt himself leaning into Loki, his chest alight with love. He grasped Loki's neck and pulled him closer with his other hand. "Of course not."


End file.
